The Acting Director of the Bordelais Correctional Facility is assuring the citizenry that the facility can house additional inmates following a request by the British authorities to assist in the transfer of three inmates from the Turks & Caicos Islands. He noted that the prison population has decreased and is at its lowest in eleven years. He also took the opportunity to also assure St Lucians that their security will not be at risk.

Following the spate of crimes taking place in the country of late, Minister for National Security, Hermangild Francis indicates that an example should be made of persons who commit violent crimes. He says the criminal code deals with capital murder and we need to get there. According to the Minister, who was also a Former Deputy Police Commissioner, the law provides for capital punishment. The Minister is also scheduled to visit the facility next week to ascertain whether the gallows

On Friday morning at about 6:58 a.m. an earthquake with a magnitude of 4.7 shook several islands. It took place about 82 kilometers south east of Roseau, the capital of Dominica, and was also felt in neighbouring Martinique, and as far away as Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent & the Grenadines. There have been no reports of damage in any of the islands.

According to the National Hurricane Centre, two tropical disturbances located in the eastern Atlantic are showing signs of development. Environmental conditions are expected to remain conducive for development and one of the systems is likely to develop into a tropical depression as early as tonight. Persons in the region are being asked to monitor their progress.

The fourth suspect, who has been on the run for nine years, accused for the murder of a French national Marion Genin, a 36 year old optician, has finally been arrested. Roger Avril, a Saint Lucian national, was picked up by the French police during a security operation in an area known for trafficking and drug use. The other three suspects, all Saint Lucian nationals, who were captured in Saint Lucia and then extradited to Martinique years ago, are currently serving time in prison.

The European Union, Canada and China have requested that a meeting of environment ministers be held on the Paris Climate accord. The European Commission says that this first gathering is aimed at further galvanizing global momentum for the implementation of the Paris Accord. At the end of 2015 in Paris, almost 200 countries agreed to limit or reduce carbon dioxide emissions with the aim of keeping the rise in global temperatures to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2050.